Tiger Tiger by Jonny Lambert

Little Tiger Press, 2017. ISBN 9781848694446
Mother Tiger has somewhere she needs to be so she leaves her cub in the care of Old Tiger. But while Little Cub wants to play and explore, Old Tiger thinks he is too old to babysit and just wants to sleep. But he consents to a "very slow stroll" through country he has seen so many times that he believes "There's nothing to see around here any more." But he doesn't factor in the joy and enthusiasm and fresh eyes of the very young and gradually his grey, tired world takes on new colours and new life.
With plenty of action words that young readers will love and relate to as well as text that sometimes rhymes, this is a story that moves from shadow to light as Old Tiger rediscovers the sights of his youth and even begins to take the lead in the play. Sometimes, as we age and life seems to weigh heavily at times, we forget to take delight in the everyday things that surround us so this story is a reminder that we need to make time for the simple and that there is fun to be had without always having to be entertained by external things.
Lambert is first and foremost an illustrator and that's evident not just in the detail in the pictures but in the way he has used colour to reflect Tiger's perception of the world. At first the jungle is dull and grey but as the adventure continues the colours brighten and the details are more intense and lush. The reader sees more and more just as Old Tiger does.
A great book for little ones and older ones alike.
Barbara Braxton